Eight suspects questioned as drugs haul revalued at £2m

Officers had provisionally estimated the value of the cocaine, speed and herbal cannabis recovered in the Co Down fishing town of Kilkeel, Belfast and Preston on Saturday at just over 1 million. They issued the revised estimate as eight suspects continued to be questioned.

Nine people were arrested in the intelligence-led police operation, with 100,000 in sterling and euro notes also found.

Six kilos of cocaine, 22kg of speed and 20kg of herbal cannabis were found during a search of a lorry in Kilkeel.

As part of the same operation – led by the Police Service of Northern Ireland – Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Police searched a house in Preston, where 1kg of cocaine, 22kg of speed and 20kg of herbal cannabis were seized.

In follow-up searches in greater Belfast, 6kg of speed were seized along with the cash.

Police have ruled out paramilitary involvement in the operation. A total of eight searches were arried out in Northern Ireland and five in England.

Five men were arrested in Northern Ireland, while three men and a woman were arrested in England.

The three men taken into custody in England were brought to the PSNI's Serious Crime Suite in Co Antrim, where they were being questioned yesterday along with the five other suspects.

The PSNI officer in charge of the operation, Det Superintendent Essie Adair, said: "We are delighted with the amount of drugs we have seized and the number of arrests made. We believe we have dismantled an organised crime gang which was importing drugs into Northern Ireland."

Mr Adair revealed that the various police forces had been working together on the operation for over a year.

"We have been working closely with colleagues in the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Constabulary for the past year," he said. "We've been watching locations, vehicles and individuals."